Devil Beside Me
by SavageTrickster
Summary: The first went missing in school. The second disappeared from his home. The third went for a jog… and never came back. One moment they were there, and the next… gone. When her best friend becomes the latest victim, Ishigumi Tsubaki starts to investigate the rumors of the supernatural, and finds that all clues lead to the mysterious transfer student Okumura Rin. - Rin x OC -
1. Strange Phenomenon

**A/N: **Alright, so I'm finally writing a Blue Exorcist fanfiction. This is my first time writing one, so it is not guaranteed to be good but I would like it if you give this story a chance. Let this first chapter be your sample.

_**Notice! **_This story takes place **_three_**years after the anime. I will not be following the manga or anime for this story, so things will be different.

Just remember to leave me a review at the end of this chapter! I want to know what you think about it. Thank you and I hope you would enjoy this!

Below is the original summary for this story. Since there is a word limit for the summary used in this site, I had to come up with two summaries – a (shorter) cover summary which you saw outside this page, and a _full _summary.

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**Full summary:**

The first went missing in school. The second disappeared from his home. The third went for a jog… and never came back. One moment they were there, and the next… gone.

Whispers of demons and spirits spread like wild fire, and everyone seems convinced of the presence of the supernatural.

But not Ishigumi Tsubaki. When her best friend becomes the latest victim, she starts to investigate and finds that all clues lead to the mysterious transfer student Okumura Rin.

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**Devil Beside Me**

_#01 _

**Strange Phenomenon**

* * *

**Year 2012. Germany ****–**** Western Berlin.**

The rain bore on endlessly, pounding on the rooftops and turning the sidewalks and roads into vast lakes of dull, muddy water. Dark gray clouds covered the sky, only letting a few rays of feeble sun slip past the barrier. The monotonous sound of raindrops beating on the sidewalk blended in with the occasional whoosh of the breeze through the treetops. Everything was bleak, gray, and dreary - even the atmosphere. People dressed in heavy coats and bearing large umbrellas walking quickly with purpose, not stopping to look at anything or anyone.

All were rushing to find a shelter, away from the rain droplets beating mercilessly on their backs or umbrellas.

Except for five– three males and two females –grown-ups who were huddled together under the pouring rain, least bothered by it. The heavy coats which were meant to help them blend in, had lost their purpose in the rapidly emptying street. They were now just pieces of meaningless cloths that were clinging onto their backs, useless and literal heavy burdens.

But that was the least of the fives' concerns.

"This is bad," The male whose dull red hair was plastered rather unflatteringly down onto his face, eyed his comrades, who did not look any better, grimly. "It seems like that something is really going on here."

"Jon is right. Things are definitely looking bad." A thin line appeared between her eyebrows as the woman beside him tugged a loose strand of her wet caramel brown hair behind her ear. "Do you think that what the American branch had alerted us about could be true?"

Her question was, however, only met with dreadful silence. Even the loud pouring rain they stood under was not enough to break it.

The dark-haired man across her crossed his arms and looked at the grave expressions his comrades shared before letting out a sigh, breaking the little moment of silence between them. "I'm afraid it is likely to be. I mean, demonic activity has indeed spiked ever since the last two months afterall. Something big is definitely brewing. " He narrowed his eyes. "Damn Satan…"

With the privacy the weather had provided them, there was no effort made in trying to tone down their conversation regarding such confidential issue.

"Then if what they warned us about is true, we better return to the headquarters as soon as possible." The man with red hair spoke up again. "The faster we hand in our mission report to the Head, the faster we can pass along the information we obtain to the other branches, especially the Japanese one."

"I can sense a war ahead of us," The three turned to their only brunette who punched a fist into his other hand fiercely as he declared, "We, Exorcists, will need to brace ourselves for that."

The other woman in the group who had not spoken a single word during their talk nodded in agreement. "Exactly, Aaron." She turned to the others. "So right now, we should head back to the hotel to change out of this attire and we shall leave for the airport once ready." She looked at them with a steady, measured look. "London is about two hours away, so we have plenty of time to discuss this on the plane."

A grin broke across the brunette's face. "Looks like Roxy is still the most practical one in our team afterall!" He slapped her on the back and turned to the redhead. "So what do you think, leader?"

"It's getting really cold!" The man's serious face relaxed. "Like she said, we should waste no more time and head back right now. C'mon, let's go!"

Not another word, the group sprinted down the street and disappeared around a corner. The street that should have been emptied minutes ago had become truly deserted, now that they were gone.

* * *

**Year 2013. Japan****– Eastern Kyoto.**

Ishigumi Takahiro thumped on the door with a closed fist once and twisted its knob. His daughter's bedroom greeted him behind the door he pushed open. The weak morning sunrays behind the drawn blue thin curtains was doing a poor job brightening up the dark room, because he nearly tripped over a shoe while he groped around for the light switch.

The middle aged man smiled delightfully when he felt the object he was looking for.

The light above him flickered on and the room was suddenly in a bright, clear view much to his relief, since he nearly tripped again over another shoe he suspected was the first's other half. Quickly reaching to the dimmer, Takahiro adjusted the brightness of the light that he knew was too blinding for his daughter's eyes. Once the light was bearable, he turned to the bed and could see her hazel brown hair peeking out from the thick cover she was slumbering under.

Shaking his head disapprovingly, he padded forward. "Good morning, Tsubaaaaaki!" He shook the sleeping girl. "Time to wake up for school!" When the man saw the twitches behind her eyelids, he thanked god that his daughter was a fairly light sleeper who he needed to wake up with little effort.

Tsubaki grumbled incoherently and groggily opened her eyes. "Dad?" Despite still being sleepy, she was quick to identify the one who had interrupted her sleep. "What time is it now?" She sat up.

"Goodness! It's already seven," Takahiro turned back to her the moment he caught sight of the time from her alarm clock. "You don't want to be late for that prefects' meeting, don't you?"

"Oh alright, I'm up now." She sighed, putting up both hands up as if she was surrendering, before shuffling over to her wardrobe. "Wait a second, Dad," She paused with one hand placed on the wardrobe door and threw narrowed eyes over her shoulders. "What did I say about entering your _seventeen_ year old daughter's bedroom?"

Takahiro blinked once at her and burst into chuckles. "You will always be my little girl no matter how old you are! Plus, your mother is busy making breakfast so who else is going to wake you up?" He turned as if to go, but paused partway toward the door. "Get changed and come down for breakfast. I don't think a cold breakfast would be as enjoyable as a warm one!"

With that, the door to her room closed behind him.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**.**

"…_**.And now on to more recent news. Another 17 year old high school student from Seiko High has been reported missing last night.**_**" **An image of the school briefly appeared on the screen.

"_**Sugimoto Daichi was reported to have disappeared from his room at approximately 8pm last night. His parents have said that he had left for his room at around 7:30pm to do his homework, and when Mrs Sugimoto went up to check at around 8pm, her son was gone. There was no trace of him leaving his room, and scattered books and stationary implied that Daichi had been in the midst of unpacking his bag when he was kidnapped."**_

"_**This is the second kidnapping case of a Seiko High student, with the first student being 16 year old Kizuma Saaya who was kidnapped in school while cleaning up her classroom last Monday.**_**" **Pictures of the students as well as their names appeared on the screen as the reporter continued the report.

"_**Her classmate, Takahashi Naoki told the police that she had simply stepped out of the classroom for a moment, and when she returned, Saaya had disappeared."**_

"_**According to her, it was impossible for Saaya to leave the classroom through the doors without being seen so it was as if she had 'disappeared into thin air'. Police investigations have been ongoing, and they believe that this is the work of a serial kidnapper as both students have disappeared in what police term as 'locked room'."**_

_**It is believed that the kidnapper is targeting high school students, and as of now the police are unable to confirm if it is a coincidence that both missing students attend Seiko High School.**__**Police are seeking help from the public to come forward with any information they have, and have advised students to not travel alone anyway, and to call the police hotline if they were to witness any suspicious activities…"**_

**.**

Tsubaki paused in the process of picking up her cup of tea to look at the pictures of the two students flashed on the television screen and sighed sympathetically. Those poor students and their families. She knew them from sight although they weren't exactly friends.

Kizuma Saaya was a freshman who lived near her, and was always friendly enough to greet her with a 'good morning' whenever they bump into each other near her house on the way to school.

She knew Sugimoto Daichi through the Student Council, and he seemed nice enough though they didn't interact much since they were under different departments in the prefectorial board.

Taking a small sip of her tea absentmindedly, Tsubaki pondered over the rumors she had heard in school. The students had been gossiping and coming up with different theories behind the 'locked room' kidnappings, and so far the most popular theory was that the students had been 'spirited away' by ghosts and demons and what not.

She scoffed quietly.

Even though Tsubaki grew up in a shrine surrounded by family members who supposedly deal with the supernatural for a living, she didn't believe in the existence of the supernatural. She had grown up learning about the duties of a shrine maiden, including how to exorcise demons and spirits, but she still didn't believe that they were real. The only reason she had even agreed to learn was because she didn't want to disappoint her parents and grandparents who were earnest about her taking over the family business.

"…That darkness I felt over this town since two weeks ago…." At that, Tsubaki snapped out of her musings and glanced over to her muttering mother who she had sat through the news report with her. "…I knew something bad was bound to happen." The older woman sighed.

"Mum, are you okay?" She watched her mother with a frown.

"Huh? What?" Ishigumi Haruko snapped out of her stupor and glanced over at her daughter with a puzzled look. "Oh yes yes, I'm fine!" She took a glance at the clock and turned back to Tsubaki. "Shouldn't you be on your way now, dear?"

Tsubaki took a glance of the time and quickly rose up from her chair. "Oh right!" She should be leaving the house now if she wanted to early for the prefects' meeting. Placing the dishes into the sink, she grabbed her bag and wore her shoes after giving her mum a peck on the cheek.

"Hey Tsubaki dear, I want you to be careful and come home straight after school today okay?" Her mother placed a hand on her shoulder. "I've been sensing a dark aura that's been hovering over town since two weeks ago and it's making me nervous." Golden eyes much like her own shone with worry, and for a moment she thought she saw a flicker of another emotion in her eyes.

Tsubaki rolled her eyes playfully at her mother. "Another one of those shrine maiden's intuition thing? I'll be fine, Mum! If you keep worrying you'll develop more wrinkles, and imagine how horrible that would be!" Giving her mother a hug and a promise that she would indeed come home straight after school, Tsubaki then left for school.

Ishigumi Haruko let her smile drop as she stared worriedly at the door.

Her intuition was rarely wrong, and when she saw the news this morning about the missing boy, the feeling of forbiddingness intensified. She had sensed a disturbance over town last night, a strong negative presence that sunk heavily on her senses. It was also disturbingly familiar, and brought her back to a night over ten years ago. A night she did not want to remember.

_Please let it not be what I think it is. _

* * *

**Eastern Kyoto – Seiko High School.**

Most of her classmates were already in class when she reached her classroom. They were scattered in clusters, discussing aloud about the latest news she had watched on the television at home. The case had been all over school ever since the first victim. It was no surprise that the second one would be the hot topic of her class, like what she had predicted on the way from the prefects' meeting.

All Tsubaki wanted to do now was to rest her sore feet. Striding past the heated discussions to the center row, she plopped down on her chair the moment she reached her desk and sighed, utterly relieved that the draggy meeting was finally over. Once Tsubaki had took out the necessary materials for the first lesson, the girl leaned fully into her chair and relaxed, sweeping a glance across the bustle around her.

Tsubaki's wandering eyes paused at the three girls by the window and was quick to spot her best friend amongst them. She could see a familiar red head bobbing about as the girl babbled on with animated gestures and an expressive face which almost looked comical to her.

She first met Matsumoto Mei during their first year together in middle school. Mei's bubbly personality drew her in like a moth to a flame, and before she knew it, they were best friends. Having a friendship of five years with Mei, she knew those actions only appeared when the bubbly girl was either excited or scared…_or_ both.

Shaking her head fondly, Tsubaki couldn't help but snicker at the myriad of amusing expressions she knew so well flash across her best friend's face.

Mei who had obviously failed to notice her entering their classroom earlier brightened up when she spotted Tsubaki. "Morning Tsu-chaaaaan!" Her emerald eyes sparkled with excitement as the redhead bounded over to her and tugged her arm urgently. "C'mon, don't just sit _thereee_! Join us!"

"Hold on, Mei–"With a strength surprisingly for a petite person like Mei, Tsubaki found herself dragged to the front of the classroom.

"Hey Tsubaki-chan, how was the prefects' meeting?" Another pair of hands latched onto her other arm excitedly when she entered their circle. "Did you watch the news today?"

"Nothing much, just that Hibari-san ordered us to increase the frequency of patrols to include evening time for the students that stay back for their club activities. You know how protective he is of the school and its students, especially since there's this kidnapper going around kidnapping our students."

The girls gasped and the class representative Shikikawa Kaoru quickly said "But it isn't safe for you guys either! What if the kidnapper takes one of you instead?"

Tsubaki nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah that's what I was thinking too, but Hibari-san paired us up with another prefect so we won't be patrolling alone. Plus don't forget that Hibari-san made all the prefects take up at least one martial art to ensure that we're well-suited to deal with any trouble!"

She gave a quick laugh at the thought while all her friends sweatdropped and murmured to each other.

"I never did understand why Hibari-san insisted they all knew how to fight… just because he's a crazy bloodthirsty guy doesn't mean that all of his prefects need to take after that weird quirk of his."

"Yeah, didn't you hear about that rumor that most of the prefects that are most loyal to him used to be delinquents? I heard that he beat them all up and they all swore loyalty to him after that!"

Mei burst into laughter. "No way, guys! I bet that's just a rumor to make Hibari-san sound scarier than he is!"

"Mei's right. That must be just some silly rumor!" Kaoru rolled her eyes dismissively. "I think the scary one right now is that kidnapper! I hope he will take no more victims away."

Tsubaki felt her stomach gave an uneasy squeeze and heard nervous laughter coming from the girls around her upon hearing 'more victims'.

"Speaking of rumors, did you guys hear the rumor about the missing students? They're saying that it's the work of a demon!"

"I wouldn't be surprised if I find out that Nakazawa Kenichi was the one who started that silly rumor about demons." Kaoru rolled her eyes. "So typical of him. He is–"

"_There were only three copies left at the stand!"_ A copper-haired boy dashed into the classroom, waving a newspaper above his head. "_But I've got a copy for us!"_

Tsubaki shook her head at the boy and turned back with a wry smile. "Speak of the devil."

"A very loud one." Mei giggled.

"Nakazawa!" Kaoru, like the class representative she is, whipped around with an admonishing glare. "How many times must I remind you not to shout in class?" But this fell onto deaf ears as their classmates had already flocked around him, talking noisily over the newspaper.

Exchanging looks, they walked over and peered curiously over shoulders to see a bold headline, '_**Seiko High's Vanishing Act**_'and the picture of Sugimoto Daichi sharing the front page of the paper.

"This is obviously no ordinary vanishing act." Kenichi flicked his hair with a smug smirk and stabbed a finger at the paper. "It's definitely true – I'm sure this must be the work of a demon!"

He was met with silence and incredulous looks.

A shot of irritation shot through Tsubaki. "Nakazawa-kun, you can't be serious!" She sighed and shook her head crossly. "Stop joking around, why would the culprit be a demon?

"Tsubaki-chan is right!" Kaoru turned sharply to the boy with a glare. "You should stop reading those stupid demon stories of yours! Disappearing students are not joking matters you know!"

"How dare you call them stupid!" Kenichi shot back. "And of course, they are not joking matters! What–"

"Actually, I think it's possible!" Mei spoke up suddenly, "I mean… how is it be possible for someone to _disappear_ from their room?"

"…What? Not you too, Mei!"

"Exactly, Matsumoto!" Kenichi jutted his chin smugly, eyes gleaming with a sort of determination. "Also, what about Kizuma-san from Class 2-B? They say that Takahashi-san was right outside the door so there was no way that anyone could enter or leave from there undetected. Furthermore, the class was on the third floor, getting out through the window would be impossible. Unless you are telling me that the kidnapper had jumped out of the window with Kizuma-san!" He scoffed rudely.

There was a wave of murmurs from all around. Some still looked unconvinced, while some were nodding away in agreement.

"_I think he's right!"_

"_Oh my god, then do you think it's true?"_

"_But isn't it just a rumor…? I hope that it'll stay as one…"_

"_This is scary…"_

"Actually, Tsubaki-chan…" Kaoru looked over at Tsubaki with a wavering look of belief. "…I think they do have a point." She said shrugging.

"Of course, we do!" Kenichi who happened to overhear that over the discussions, jumped in. "C'mon, Ishigumi! You out of everyone here have more reasons to believe that this could be a supernatural case. Don't tell me that you haven't experience anything unnatural at your family shrine!" He leaned in with a skeptical look on his face.

"No, I have never encountered a single 'supernatural' thing before." Tsubaki folded her arms, a distinct sting of sarcasm noticeable in her voice. "It is just a rumor. There is no solid evidence to prove that it's true. Don't be ridiculous, Nakazawa-kun. Things like this does not exist! Maybe the kidnapper is just _really _skilled, and somehow made it look like the two just disappeared without a trace."

Kenichi gave a long-suffering sigh.

"Well, she has a point too." Kaoru said, shrugging flippantly. "That rumor was probably started by some supernatural geeks like you. Maybe you should form a club with them." The class representative drawled blithely.

"Tsu-chaaan," Tsubaki tore her eyes away from them and found herself staring at Mei's huge glittering green eyes that were staring earnestly at her. "Don't you find this case_ veryyy_ interesting? I kind of want to see a real demon myself!"

"Mei," Tsubaki sighed. "Didn't I say that demons aren't real, you silly girl?" Tsubaki hit her lightly on her head, earning a pout from the redhead.

Rubbing at the spot where her mean best friend hit her, Mei glanced around the classroom. Everyone was gathered around Kenichi's table gossiping about the case, except for the new transfer students.

Mei frowned.

"They are really quiet, aren't they? Even though it had already been two weeks long since they joined us, I've barely spoken a word to them outside of class!"

Tsubaki glanced at where Mei was staring, and found herself looking at the two students huddled together at the back row of the class.

"Okumura-kun and Kamiki-san? Maybe they are just uncomfortable talking to strangers?"

"I wish they could talk to us…"

Mei sighed and looked up with a light blush on her cheeks. "Hey Tsu-chan," Her voice was reduced to a whisper. "Don't you find Okumura-kun kind of handsome and cool? Even Suzuki-chan and Ayame-chan think so too!"

"Hmm," Tsubaki blinked at her, thinking for a moment. "I guess he's okay, but I'm not so sure about the 'cool' part." Her lips formed a sly smile. "Don't tell me someone has a crush on our new transfer student from Tokyo…?" Tsubaki raised an eyebrow suggestively at Mei who grew even redder.

"Tsu-chan, stop teasing me! I don't think it's a crush, I just think he's pretty cute." Mei paused as she gazed at the two transfer students. "Do you think Okumura-kun and Kamiki-chan are… you know, together?"

"Nah, they don't look like a couple, but who knows? Looks can be deceiving." Tsubaki shrugged nonchalantly.

"Mei-chan!"

Tsubaki looked up to realize it was Kaoru, and nudged Mei who had a faraway look on her face. "Hmm?"

"Mei, Kaoru-chan is calling for you."

"Huh? Oh, coming!"

Folding her arms behind her back, Tsubaki rested against the wall as Mei hurried away, idly observing the two students she and Mei was talking about.

They were interesting people at the least. From what she had observed so far, they were very private people and it wasn't uncommon to see them huddled over discussing something. Or arguing over something would be a more appropriate way of describing it.

Kamiki Izumo said something angrily in a low hushed voice, throwing her long dark purple ponytail over her shoulder with a glare that could probably burn through steel.

Tsubaki glanced over to the recipient of her glare, Okumura Rin, who didn't seem the least bothered by her glare.

The boy with dark blue–almost black– messy hair was seated at his assigned desk by the window and he returned a glare of his own though less intense, while saying something back in a similarly heated tone. He looked a little impatient and annoyed.

Tsubaki wonder what they were arguing about. They've been doing that ever since they transferred over to Seiko, and recently it had seemed to be more intense than usual.

She shrugged and told herself not to dwell too much on it, knowing it was none of her business.

Snapping out of her train of thoughts, Tsubaki realized that while she had been lost in her thoughts and staring absentmindedly in their direction, Rin had switched from glaring at Izumo to staring at her curiously with his intense blue eyes.

Her face burned in embarrassment to have been caught staring and she immediately turned away, pretending to be occupied with listening to her classmates blabber about demons and whatnot.

She noticed in her peripheral vision that Rin and Izumo had stopped talking and were staring at her.

* * *

Rin had noticed someone staring at him while he was arguing with Izumo, and had turned to find himself looking at one of their classmates.

Ishiki…? Ishigaki…? Ishigami…? Ishigumi!

He only remembered her name because he had detected something slightly off about her on his first day. It was faint, and if not for this well-tuned senses, he would have missed the lingering traces of demonic presence that clung to her. His eyebrow furrowed in concentration. And if he's not wrong, he could also detect traces of spiritual energy from her, though it didn't feel like her own. She must have been constantly exposed to someone with spiritual energy for it to leave a residual trace on her.

"Hey Kamiki. Do you think there's something off about Ishigumi-san?"

Izumo stopped in the middle of her tirade to give Rin a questioning look. "Who?"

Rin inclined his head in Tsubaki's direction and Izumo turned to give her classmate a quick look.

"She's human, but there's some spiritual residual on her, probably from being in contact from someone with spiritual powers. Maybe she lives in a shrine like me? I think I heard someone say something about that just now."

Rin paused in his assessment to look at Izumo. "You don't sense that trace of demonic energy on her? It's faint and kind of faded, but it's there alright."

Izumo shook her head. "No, I didn't sense anything demonic from her."

Rin frowned. He was sure that he sensed something, but why couldn't Izumo sense it? Or was it just his imagination?

"Do you think she has something to do with that demonic presence we have been sensing over town these two weeks?"

Now it was Rin's turn to shake his head. "No, I don't think she's involved in this."

"We can't be so sure, can't we?"

Rin sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Urghhhh, this is getting really annoying. We've been here for two weeks since The Order first detected the demonic presence, and we even had to infiltrate the school after that first girl got kidnapped, and we haven't found anything! Where the hell is that stupid demon! I thought this was supposed to a short assignment - find demon, exorcise demon, go home, the end."

"Quit whining, Okumura." Izumo crossed her arms, glancing down with impatience gleaming in her dark, red eyes. "Behave like a Meister, will you? Neither Moriyama, Konekomaru nor I are complaining about this!"

"Whatever, Eyebrows," Rin huffed and stretched out his arms lazily, with a contented smile forming across his face. "This is actually kind of nice, you know? I haven't been to a normal school in a looooong time!"

"I wouldn't count this school _normal _with all these going on." Izumo snorted rudely and gave him a dry look. "Okumura, you're an idiot."

Rin glared at her and was about to retort with an insult of his own, but was interrupted by the entry of their teacher. He settled for a glare as his classmates all hurried back to their seats.

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**A/N: **This is all for the first chapter! So? How was it? Okay? Terrible? Painful? Please do leave me reviews; feedbacks from readers are very crucial to me when it comes to writing. I would be really grateful if you reviewed. Please tell me how it is because I have no clue. BWAHAHA.


	2. Night Encounter

**A/N: **I'm really surprised that I would receive this many positive feedback for the first chapter. The amount of response had totally exceeded my expectation! Thank you so much to those who had given this story a chance. Without further ado, here is the second chapter! Again, remember to leave me a review at the end! Pardon me for the errors you may spot below; this chapter will be revised again when I find the time. And by the way, in case you didn't know, I have changed to the chronology of this story. Instead of two years, this story takes place _three_ years after the anime.

**Disclaimer (applies to all chapters): I do not own Blue Exorcist or the cover page, but only the OCs and the plot.**

* * *

**Devil Beside Me**

_#02_

** Night Encounter**

* * *

The school bell rang the moment the hand of the wall clock struck one, signalling the end of their History lesson and the start of the next lesson. Tsubaki moved her bored gaze away from the teacher in the front and to Kaoru who had taken up her rightful duty as the class representative by standing up, prompting the class to greet the leaving teacher.

Getting up from her chair, Tsubaki mirrored her classmates around her, bowing at the waist and joining the lazy, sleepy chorus of greeting. Everyone dropped their stance as soon as the teacher exited the room. Groggily groans that filled the room were quickly turned to idle chats as her classmates turned to each other.

Tsubaki let out a weary sigh. Lethargy could be seen from her slumped shoulders and her incessant yawns. Raising her arms over her head for a stretch, Tsubaki twisted herself at her waist to the right, feeling a satisfying pull in the muscles at her side before twisting to the left to do the same for the other side.

Before she could finish her stretch, the empty seat at the back of the room caught her eyes.

With a frown, Tsubaki dropped her arms and was driven by curiosity to turn to look at the vacant table down the row, freshly recalling Rin asking their teacher to allow him to leave at the start of their fifth lesson for a toilet break in a demanding, urgent tone before dashing out of the room with the sword he always carried around on his back. The need to bring his sword with him to the toilet puzzled her as much as his absence for the entire hour and counting.

"Tsu-chan!"

"Huh?" Tsubaki snapped out of her pondering and turned back to find Mei whose seat was in front of her, looking at her impatiently. "What is it, Mei?" Tsubaki's eyebrows rose at the look she was receiving.

"I've been calling you for four times but you did not even turn!" The frown on Mei's mouth turned into a pout. "I was going to ask you whether you are interested in dropping by at the yogurt shop with me and Kaoru-chan after school since your patrol duty only starts tomorrow."

Tsubaki gave out a sheepish laugh. "My bad, I was thinking about something." The sheepish look on Tsubaki's face was quickly replaced by an apologetic frown. "Sorry, Mei, I promised my mom that I would go home straight after school. Plus, I'm training with my dad today."

"Aikido againnn…?"

"Yes, so next time alright?" Tsubaki shook her head at the sight of puppy eyes the redhead gave her, effortlessly dismissing the glittering rounded green eyes many had given in to. "Next timeeeeeee." She emphasised before reaching out to ruffle Mei's hair.

Mei harrumphed before sticking out her tongue childishly at Tsubaki. "Fine–"

_Slam! _

The sudden sound from the front of the classroom made them turn, alerting them to the arrival of their Biology teacher. "Alright, back to your seats! Enough chattering!" The loud chatters reduced to groans the moment the teacher said that. The clusters of students around the room dispersed as quickly as they had gathered.

The room was noisy again within seconds, this time with sound of chairs scraping against the floor, grumbles from her classmates and loud yawns filling it.

Their teacher wasted no time waiting for them to greet him. "Turn to Page 34 of your textbooks." He had already started writing on the blackboard, his white chalk producing _thuds_ as it hit against the black surface at every stroke. "We're going to cover something really important today!"

Once Tsubaki had taken out her textbook and turned it to the 34th page for the lesson, she glanced up and watched Mei fumble for hers before looking away to watch others do the same. She caught the impatient look Kaoru wore as she stood waiting for everyone to stand for their usual greeting, glaring over her shoulders at their classmates who were still searching under their tables and in their bags for their textbooks.

Tsubaki who was about to turn her head back to the front, paused when the familiar squeaky sound the back door always made sounded from behind. From her peripheral vision, she dimly saw a few heads turn with hers.

She blinked in surprise at the door.

The boy she had wondered about minutes ago was now pushing the door open in a meek and careful manner, seemingly trying to sneak in from the back unnoticed. The way he was still acting despite the few pairs of eyes that were already on him, showed that he was still unaware of the weird looks on him.

Stepping within the room through the small gap he made, a startled look flashed past Rin's face when he finally looked up, taken back by the attention he received despite his sneaky entrance. With quick, nervous sweep of gaze across the surprised faces, his eyes stopped on a certain pair of golden eyes which was studying him like the others.

Tsubaki's eyebrows were raised as she took in the dishevelled state the dark-haired boy was in. His messy hair was messier than usual, _way_ messier than when he left earlier. The tugged uniform she saw earlier was sticking out untidily over the brim of his black pants, looking like it was hastily shoved into the bottom piece. Her gaze moved up to his face to find a cut near the bridge of his nose and another under his left eye which was staring at…her.

A silent surprised gasp escaped her mouth as her golden eyes flickered up to meet his to find that he was _indeed_ staring at her, unnerving her with child-like, curious blinks.

_Why the hell is he…?_ A frown appeared Tsubaki's face as her sluggish mind suddenly racing with panic at her realization. Had enough of the strange stare-down, Tsubaki finally turned away to face the front, as calmly as she could like nothing weird just happened between them.

With eyes boring into the back of Mei's red head, Tsubaki breathed carefully. The light shuffling of foot which followed after a soft _thump _told her, even without the need to turn back, that the boy had closed the door and was now moving back to his seat.

"Good afternoon, Watanabe-sensei."

In the two years of her high school life, Tsubaki had never been _this_ enthusiastic to join her classmates in greeting her teachers.

* * *

In one fluid movement, Tsubaki sidestepped to the right, folding the arm held firmly in her hands in an odd angle as she brought it over her head to finish the move by delivering a twist enough to hurt but not enough to break the wrist. Satisfied with the offensive form she had created before her, Tsubaki's eyes flickered up to the man which the arm belonged to. The wince on his face told her that she had got the technique right.

"Dad, is this right?" Tsubaki allowed herself a small smirk as she asked with eyes glistening in confidence.

Takahiro managed a smile despite the uncomfortable twist in his arm and nodded. "Better." The sides of his eyes crinkled as he let out a strained chuckle. "How about releasing the poor old man now?"

"Sorry, got carried away." Tsubaki stepped back and rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, inwardly scolding herself for forgetting to hold back on her aging father. Times like this always occurred when she becomes too focused on her footwork and the way she executed techniques.

"Not too bad, Tsubaki. But it could be better." Takahiro straightened his crumbled hakama. "I saw your foot wobble just now. Work on your footwork and you will be on your way to getting this belt." Tsubaki's eyes drifted down to the black belt at his waist which the man gave a proud tug to.

Looking down at her own blue one around her waist, Tsubaki sighed and made a face. "It's gonna take me a long time to get that, Dad. A _long _time."

Takahiro blinked once at her and burst into chuckles. "All in good time, Tsubaki! It took me only two years and two years isn't as long as you think." He ran a hand through his short black hair thoughtfully. "Maybe you'll take even shorter? Who knows?"

"_Takahiro, Tsubaki dear! You can stop the session now!"_

"Excellent, looks like your mother has finish making dinner!" Tsubaki watched her father clap his hands delightfully and couldn't help but snicker in amusement at his obvious display of excitement. Age clearly did not change the child-like spirit her father carried.

"You two should tuck in first."

Takahiro paused his clapping and glanced over at his daughter with a puzzled look to find her walking over to the stand holding wooden practice swords they called 'bokken'.

Tsubaki pulled one out and turned around. "I'll be practicing some more." She raised the bokken.

"Alright, but don't take too long!" Tsubaki watched her father pad across the tatami floor and stop before the sliding doors. "Oh right, pay a visit to Kino-chan before coming back in." The man threw an apologetic look over his shoulder. "Your old man haven't had time to clean her grave."

"Okay, Dad!" Tsubaki called out after him as he pushed the doors apart and walked out of the gap he made, practically skipping down the open-aired hallway linking to their house. Shaking her head amusingly at the retreating figure down the hallway, Tsubaki made her way to the center of the small dojo with the bokken in hand.

* * *

The setting sun painted the darkening sky orange and casted long, dark shadows on the compound of the Ishigumi Shrine, across the statues and between shrine halls. Under the shade of the shrine's resident tree which was not spared by the shadows, stood a girl and a grave marked with a piece of wood.

Tsubaki kneeled before the wood, gazing at the bowl of bone-shaped dog food, a bunch of squeaky toys and a stalk of yellow flowers she had placed as offerings. "Kino-chan," Tsubaki looked up at the name she had personally engraved into the wood ten years ago. "Have you been a good girl?"

Her question was met with silence. The response she received was the sound of rustling leaves when a light breeze blew past.

Tsubaki chuckled softly to herself.

"What am I saying? You _are_ always a good girl." Tugging a loose strand of her hazel brown hair behind her ear, Tsubaki placed a hand on the wood with a forlorn smile. "I have cleaned your home and brought you your favourite toys in case my good girl is lonely." She could almost see Kino, her late snow-furred eskimo dog wagging her fluffy tail happily back at her.

Tsubaki felt her heart clench in pain and sadness.

"And…And, thank you for saving me back then."

Kino was the family dog which was fiercely protective of her since she was a baby, following her almost anywhere and everywhere. But on the day of Tsubaki's tenth birthday, Kino was ran over by a truck and died an instant death while it was dragging her unconscious young self out of the harm's way. Or at least that was what her parents had told her. Her mind always seemed to hit a blank whenever she tried to think back like now.

"Sorry, Kino-chan. I should be ashamed of myself as your owner…" Tsubaki gazed sadly at the engraved name before her. "…I-I can never seem to remember what happened no matter how hard I try." Her voice jumped with a crack.

"_Tsubaaaaaki!_" A voice which belonged to no other but her father rang out from across the compound. "_Come back in now!"_

A silent sigh escaped her mouth.

Tsubaki shouted back an 'Okay' in the direction of her house before turning back to the burial ground. "I have to head back home now, Kino-chan. I will visit again soon, I promise." She touched the wood fondly and climbed to her feet, brushing dirt off her hakama.

"See you, Kino-chan."

Tsubaki smiled a small smile at the silent grave and turned away to walk to the lighted house ahead.

* * *

Rin bounded down the row, swinging concealed _Kurikara _over a shoulder. Startled gasps could be heard from his classmates as he ran past their desks, muttering apologies under his breath. In the chaos he had caused, he failed to notice the curious gaze following him from the center row.

The teacher whose attention was on the blackboard jumped back in surprise when she turned around in time to see the dark-haired boy sprinting past her. "Okumura-san, where do you think you're going?!" She watched Rin threw open the door with eyes wide in bewilderment.

"Toilet! A-Ah...stomach hurts _real_ bad!" Rin made a brief pause at the doorway and threw a grimace over his shoulders, clutching onto his stomach. "Be back soon!" With that said, the boy dashed through the door and disappeared into the hallway, leaving a dumbfounded teacher and a class of puzzled students staring at the vacant spot he once stood.

Tsubaki, however, did not share the same look as her classmates. _What's with that guy?_ Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. _Carrying a sword with him to the toilet?_ She cast a sweeping glance over the back row and stopped on the other transfer student, Izumo, who she noticed looked completely bored despite what happened.

"Class, finish Exercise 5 and hand it up before I leave!"

Snapping out of her stupor, Tsubaki turned back to the front with a shrug. _Hmm, whatever._

* * *

Tsubaki gave her shoelaces a tug and pushed herself up to her feet, striding to the full length mirror by the door. Checking that the prefects' armband was still securely pinned to the left sleeve of her uniform and her hair was neatly bounded in the reflection, she let out a deep breath, inwardly wishing herself good luck for her first evening patrol in school.

Haruko emerged from the kitchen and walked over to her daughter with a worried frown "Tsubaki dear, do you have everything you need?"

"Yeap." Tsubaki nodded, picking up the bokken she had decided to bring along.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Mummmm."

"Torchlight? Water bottle? Umbrella?"

"All in this bag." Tsubaki patted the sling bag which was currently hanging from her right shoulder.

"Handphone? Your wallet?"

Tsubaki rolled her eyes playfully at her mother. "Yesssss, Mum, I've checked a couple of times already." She stepped forward to pull her mother into a reassuring hug. "I'll be fineeeee and will be back before you know it." Pulling away, Tsubaki flashed the woman a grin. "You worry too much!"

"You heard her, Haruko." Tsubaki turned to see her father walking toward them with an amused look on his face. "I'm sure Tsubaki is capable enough to take care of herself out there."

A torn look appeared on Haruki's face. "But..."

Tsubaki shot her father a grateful look when she was sure her mother wasn't looking before glancing down at her watch. "I'd better get going to school now or I'll be late!" Panic filled her when she saw the time. Giving her parents a quick hug, Tsubaki threw open the door and ran.

"Take care!"

* * *

**South of Eastern Kyoto ****– The ****Grand Oriental Suites**

The tiny rectangular box on the door lock blinked green as soon as the silver plastic card in Rin's hand came in contact with it. Pressing down on the grey, sleek handle when a curt _beep _emitted from the device, Rin strolled into the spacious suite with a weary sigh, kicking the door close behind. The dark-haired boy's mouth opened wide with a lazy yawn as he toed off his shoes and socks.

The familiar shot of coolness from the pastel white marble floor greeted his sore feet as he made his way down the short hallway and into the small living room which was quiet like always.

Coming back to a silent, empty suite was something he had gotten used ever since they arrived here in Kyoto for the mission. While he appreciated the freedom and privacy that came with having the whole 65-square meter suite to himself, it was sometimes little lonely here.

Dropping his helmet, _Kurikara_ and the key card on the dinky, round dining table by the wall, Rin entered the kitchen to the right of the living room with the purchase he bought from a convenience store he swung by after he gave Shiemi a ride back to her hotel on his motorbike.

On the day he arrived in Kyoto with his four-man team consisting of Shiemi, Izumo and Konekomaru, they were surprised to find out that they had to stay in four different hotels ran by the Order itself. He knew the Order was wealthy, but to him, owning chains of hotels brought 'wealthy' to a whole new level. The accommodation arrangement for his team was odd, but this was later explained over the phone by Yukio, one of the mission organisers, that since they were the only team assigned to Eastern Kyoto, the fastest way to deal with the abnormal occurrence in demonic activity was stationing them in North, South, East and West of the region to cover more ground while they were on the mission. It was also a strategic arrangement that surrounded their mission ground, Seiko High, which was located near the heart of the region, Yukio had very proudly added in his explanation.

Rin understood why, but the inconvenience the strategy brought frustrated him.

The plastic bag in his hand rustled noisily as Rin dug out its content, namely a carton of milk and a pre-made bento box he had decided was the best choice of dinner since he was much too tired to cook himself a meal.

The boy popped the bento box into the microwave and stabbed a button before re-entering the living room. Padding into the one and only bedroom of the suite after he had stripped and tossed his hoodie jacket on the couch, he tiredly ran a hand through his messy hair before reaching to the back to yank his shirt over his head. The shudder that had instantly ran through his body when a cold breeze of the air-conditioner hit him, made his muscles clench and his hair stand on its end.

Once he had completely rid the clothes on him, the dark-haired boy paced into the bathroom, stretching a little before stepping into the shower stall. A long, contented sigh emitted from Rin when a gush of warm water hit him from the shower head above.

"More demons and I may go crazy…!" A loud groan escaped Rin as he felt his tense muscles unwound, exhaustion accumulated from a busy day settling heavily on his senses. "Lucky Kuro." At times like that, he wished he could trade places with the black Cat Sidhe which had to stay behind in True Cross Academy for a mission of its own as an entrance guard to tighten security.

Rin was really surprised when he was asked to leave his familiar behind, but he eventually understood over the time while he was on this mission. He didn't need boring, complicated statistics he could never understand or someone to tell him that demonic activity had increased as he, himself had experienced the unusual rise in demons' appearance from the number of times he had to dash out in the middle of lessons with crappy excuses to deal with them himself.

Lathering soap on his skin once he was done with his hair, Rin worked his fingers on his shoulders and down, elaborately massaging the aches away, especially his biceps which he had excessively used to cut down countless demons with _Kurikara_. "Damn those demons, don't they ever take a break?"

A miserable moan from the boy bounced off the walls of the stall as he stepped under the shower to rinse.

* * *

**Eastern Kyoto ****–**** Seiko High School, 6:37pm**

Tsubaki glanced at the nervous looks on the faces of the three other prefects beside her before sweeping a gaze across the school buildings surrounding the compound they reported in. She would be lying to herself if she said she didn't find the school scary at night. The way the dark, silent buildings loomed over them was unsettling. Most of the club activities had already ended and majority of the students were already home, but she was sure they were going to find some, most likely the sports members, going at it in the clubrooms and sports hall.

But it was going to be up to the four of them to seek out those students in this school which was obviously too large for them to cover. The thought of walking in the dark, quiet hallways made Tsubaki gulp thickly and let out a shudder.

Tsubaki let out a deep breath.

"Alright, let's pair up!" Tsubaki suddenly turned to them with a determined look on her face. "There may only be four of us here, but if we do it real quickly, we'll be able to go home. So who's coming with me?" Her ponytail fluttered to the light breeze that blew past as she glanced at each of their faces.

"I'm going with Yuki-chan." Matsuno Kana, the ebony haired second year across Tsubaki immediately hooked her arms around, Akiyama Yuki the caramel haired girl who was also a second year.

"Can we?" Yuki nodded. "We're sparring partners in karate so we work best together."

"If that's so, go ahead." Tsubaki cracked a smile of approval and turned to the boy beside her. "Hiro-kun, I guess you're with me then." Yoshikawa Hiro was a third year student like her and was a blue-belt holder like her but in Judo. She had known him since they were freshmen. "Hope you wouldn't mind." She flashed the boy a small teasing smile.

"Not at all." Hiro quirked an amused smile at her and nodded before turning to all with a serious look. "By the way, do all of you have a torchlight?"

"Yup." Tsubaki turned to the two other girls to see them nod in unison once she had given her answer before taking another brief glance at the buildings around. Something about the buildings made her uneasy, but she was sure it was just her being scared.

"Like Tsubaki-chan had said, let's get this over with." The mention of her made her turn back to find Hiro glancing over at her with a meaningful nod.

Grins broke across the second years' faces.

"Yes, can't wait to get this dumb patrol done!"

"Definitely, I'm damn tired. I'd kill to get home to my bed right now!"

Tsubaki leaned into Hiro with a whisper, a skeptical look on her face. "Do you think it's wise to let two juniors go on their own?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be fine as long as they got each other." Hiro shrugged.

"I guess…" Tsubaki nodded reluctantly and turned back to the girls. "Okay, you two will cover these two like assigned." She gestured to the buildings to the right. "Report back to here with students you've found, understand?" The long briefing during the prefects' meeting they had to attend yesterday covered details about their patrols and she still could remember them clearly.

"Understood!"

* * *

Having a whole room to himself wasn't always a bad thing because he could move around with just a towel wrapped around his waist or even naked without someone yelling at him to put on some clothes. His tail was also free to swish around without people staring at it like it was some new museum artefact or tugging it _hard_ just to see him yell in pain like that sadistic bastard Ryuji Suguro.

Securing the towel around his torso, Rin padded into the kitchen with a tiny relaxed smile, ruffling his drying hair with the towel around his neck. Grabbing the warmed bento box from the microwave, he shuffled over to the mini-bar and pulled out a can of chilled coffee which is of course, free of charge like every other facilities in the hotel. Everything in this building under the name of the Order was provided to him free, from the food in mini-bar to the gym he woke up with effort to visit every morning to maintain the lean muscles across his broad shoulders and down his arms. This privilege helped fill the dull, lonely times he had from staying alone.

"Welcome to Kyoto's Kyoko Cooking Show!" A purple haired TV host popped into view with a wide smile as soon as the black, plain screen of the LCD television lit into life. Wincing at the loud applause that followed after the TV host's appearance, Rin quickly cranked the volume down in a panic to a bearable level and with a relieved sigh, tossed it aside before picking up his phone.

A voicemail notification on the tiny screen of the device greeted him when he flipped it open. _Yukio_.

Rin pressed down on a button with a sigh.

"_How's Kyoto, Nii-chan?_ _And how is the school so far?"_ Yukio's voice emitted from the device. "_Have you and Kamiki-san pick up anything about the demonic presence? Shiemi-san just contacted me earlier, she told me the only thing that struck her amaze was how especially active the demons are." _

"And who is the one dealing with them the most?" Rin snorted loudly. "Poor tired me."

"_By the way, I hope you haven't pick a fight with anyone, Nii-san. Remember, bring as little attention to yourself as possible. Low profile, understand? And spend the allowance the Order gave you wisely." _A sneeze could be heard from the background. "_I'll come over to help out…maybe in three weeks' time? I'll see you all then. Take care, Nii-san."_ The phone in his hand beeped, signalling the end of the voicemail.

"That four-eye…" Rin snapped his phone close with a loud annoyed sigh. "For god's sake, your older brother is _eighteen_, not eight! Stop talking to me like I'm some brat." He slammed the device down on the couch beside him before moving to stuff his mouth with another spoon of rice.

Eyes landing on the can of chilled coffee he placed on the coffee table, the dark-haired boy leaned forward, chewing noisily on his food, and snapped open the can singlehandedly with ease.

Caffeine was what he needed for the pile of homework waiting in his bag. Back in his real middle school, he was never the type of student who submitted his homework. But for this mission, he had to in order to keep low profile and stay away from detentions. He had no time or energy to waste on redundant things like detentions or be lectured by teachers for not submitting his homework.

Rin tilted his head back for a sip, lifting the coffee to his mouth. _Don't tell me…_ The can in his hand stopped a few inches just before his lips.

Turning to his head to the window, Rin peered out into the night sky with a scowl. _Shit._ The familiar unpleasant tug was here again. _Not another one..! _Letting out a groan, he narrowed his eyes in concentration and focused on the tug at his chest, letting it lead him to the demonic presence. Finally, his blue eyes snapped open with surprise flashing in them. _It's coming from the direction of…Seiko High! _

Not again.

His face fell as he turned to look at his unfinished dinner. Was he going drop everything and rush over again? Like every damn time? Hell no, it had always been him doing the demon hunting and he was always still so exhausted no matter how much he slept.

Not this time, Rin thought with jaw set before snatching up his phone. Scrolling through his contact list, he quickly hit the call button as soon as he found who he was looking for.

"_What is it, Okumura?_"

"Hey Eyebrows," He said as soon as Izumo's voice entered the line. "Another one has appeared and it's in that school."

"_School?"_ Her voice had a jump of impatience._ "And why call me?"_

A prick of annoyance came at him. "Well, to ask you to go get it!"

"_Excuse me, which of us here owns a motorbike? YOU!"_

"Me again?!"

"_Seriously Okumura, with that bike of yours, you are the fastest among us to reach there, and while I hate to admit it, you also happen to deal with them the fastest!" _Izumo's voice was high with exasperation._ "Isn't that why the Order provided you lessons and a bike to come with them for this mission?"_

"Yeah well…"

"_Plus, not to forget…we are relying on your senses to detect those pests! You're the reason why they didn't see the need to give us those detectors, remember?"_

Rin let out a frustrated groan.

Sometimes he just wished that he had no such ability to sense other demons.

In the three years after Yukio had awaken his demon side during the Satan's attack on True Cross Academy, the brothers had discovered that their demon side weren't just about having blue flames and tails. Being able to sense other demons even from miles away was something Rin couldn't do before the attack. Yukio theorised that the trigger of this new ability could be the awakening of his own demonic side and something about Rin's power not fully unlocked yet until then. Other than their gained ability, destroying the Gehenna Gate seemed to have proved their allegiance to Assiah and made the Order more accepting of the idea of having Satan's sons as part of them.

With the awareness of their newfound ability, the Order had made eliminating demons his side mission alongside with the main one. Yukio had emphasised to him that it was _his_ mission, not his teammates. Though he did quietly added that Rin should share the responsibility with them and not let it tire him too much.

He had tried to take on as many demons as he could without getting the others involved, but he was reaching his limit.

"Eyebrows," Rin said through gritted teeth. "Since we came here, it has always been me. I'm beyond exhausted."

"_Do this and I'll be the one to deal the rest that appears during school for the next five days!" _A deep sigh came from the other side. "_It'll be me running out of class instead. How 'bout that?" _

"What-"

"_Quit wasting time, people may be hurt while we're arguing over this!" _

A pang of guilt and realization hit him. "Fine."

"_Then get going, Okumura!"_

"Alright, I'm holding you to your words then!"

With that, Rin ended the call and rushed into the bedroom to put on a blue shirt and jeans before throwing on a black leather jacket. Fitting his hands into his black fingerless gloves as he dashed to _Kurikara,_ he swung it on a shoulder before grabbing his helmet and card key.

Cursing aloud, he made his way out of the room.

* * *

Tsubaki couldn't help but be astounded by the drastic contrast of the corridors in the day and now. In the day, the hallways always looked so lively, bustling with chattering students but at night, the corridors were eerily dark and gave her the feeling of being watched.

"Wow, school is _really_ dark at night." Tsubaki waved her torchlight around the hallway, closing the door of a classroom they were done checking. The corridor was so quiet that she could hear the clock inside the room ticking away even through its closed door.

"Don't tell me you're scared of the dark, Tsubaki-chan?" Hiro asked teasingly in a sing-song voice.

"No, I'm not." Tsubaki swung her torchlight unthinkingly at him to find a grin on his face which quickly turned into a wince when the light from her torchlight hit him. "Sorry!" She moved it away when she caught his expression.

"It's okay. But I have to say that it's a good way to blind someone." Tsubaki could hear Hiro laughing at his own joke.

Quirking her own smirk at him, Tsubaki fired the question back at him. "Don't tell me _you_ are scared of the dark, Hiro-kun?"

"Oh please," Hiro rolled his eyes at her question. "I _loveee_ the dark."

Tsubaki laughed and turned to her torchlight to the side, as they round a corner.

"Why are we even checking the classrooms anyway?" Hiro suddenly asked, incredulous. "I mean… just look at them, the lights are off and they are so quiet! Who in this world would want to stay in the classrooms at this timing in the first place?" His voice was high with bewilderment.

Tsubaki couldn't agree more. "It's the protocol Hibari-san gave us so we might as well follow it," Tsubaki drawled, shrugging. "There _could be_ some cray-cray students who thinks it's oh so cool to do that. Maybe those supernatural-obsessed idiots like Nakazawa Kenichi from my class?"

"Oh, you mean _that_ guy?"

Tsubaki grinned when she heard Hiro let out a laughter with unflattering snorts between them.

"Yes, who else? Remember that guy when we are both in the same class with during the first year?" Tsubaki snickered in amusement. "That Nakazawa who pestered you to accompany him to the toilet and made you wait in the toilet stall he was in as he pooped?"

"I had to watch him shit! That was disgusting!" Another wave of laughter came from Hiro. "A-Alright, alright! Stop making m-m-e laugh! My stom-m-mach hurts so b-b-bad right now!"

Smiling from ear to ear as she watched the boy regained his composure, Tsubaki nudged him with a grin. "Let's finish this patrol, Hiro-kun."

"Roger!"

Turning their torchlights to the front again, they continued their patrol.

"It looks to me like there is nobody left in school." Tsubaki glanced over at Hiro, swinging her torchlight to the side. "Do you think Yuki-chan and Kana-chan have found anyone, Hiro-kun–"Her question hung in the silence as she tilted her head in puzzlement at the stunned look on his face. "What's with that look?" She asked when he finally looked at her.

"Didn't you see that just now?" Hiro started urgently. "The black thing that flew above us just now."

"Black thing?" Tsubaki raised an eyebrow and looked around before returning to him with an unimpressed look. "C'mon, we slacked off and now we_ really_ have to focus on our job, Hiro-kun. Didn't told you I'm not scared just now. Don't bother trying to frighten me because it's _clearly_ not working."

Hiro had an exasperated look on his face. "I'm not! I swear I saw something and it went down this hall." He pointed his torchlight at the corridor ahead. "Really fast."

Tsubaki studied at his face and noticed how it had paled.

"Tsubaki-chan, did you bring a talisman with you? What if it is like what they said, a demon…" Hiro casted a nervous glance down the corridor and back to Tsubaki who he saw return him an incredulous scowl.

"You can't be serious, Hiro-kun, there are no such things as demons!" Tsubaki ran a hand down her face in frustration. "If you're afraid of the dark, you should have said so."

It was Hiro's turn to look frustrated. "I'm not and I mean what I said about loving the dark!"

"Then it must be your imagination playing tricks on you." Tsubaki took a step toward Hiro and clamped a hand down on the boy's shoulder firmly. "Look, if you're not up for this, just stay here or go back to the reporting venue. I'm not going to force you to go with me if you're uncomfortable with this."

"You're being ridiculous." Hiro tensed. "There is no way I'm going to leave you here alone."

Tsubaki sighed. "Alright, but I'll head down this hall myself. There are only four classrooms down it so it will be a quick check. Then we'll report." Tsubaki flashed the hallway a glance. "You stay here and wait. I'll be back fast." Patting Hiro's shoulder, Tsubaki turned and walked off without another word, disappearing into the dark.

"W-Wait…!" Blinking owlishly at the direction she went, Hiro shook his head and sighed. "Still the same girl from back then…Stubborn as always."

* * *

Parked by the gates of Seiko High, the vibration of the motorcycle under Rin reduced into a small tremble before the engine was completely cut off. The dark-haired boy swung himself off the vehicle and pulled off his helmet, glancing into the school with a scowl on his face. The tug he sensed back in his hotel was as intense as ever now.

Glancing down, surprise jolted through Rin when he saw that the gates were left ajar.

With a hand curled firmly around _Kurikara,_ Rin strode over to the gates. "Who the hell left the gates open like this?" He studied the ajar gates curiously.

Rin's eyes brightened with realization when his conversation with Izumo he had in the day struck him. "Oh right, evening patrols by prefects!" He looked up at the buildings, alarmed and panicking. "Shit, it just had to appear here and now!" Pushing the gates apart, Rin sprinted toward the building with a growl, following the pulsing tug within him.

* * *

Feeble light from the moon barely lit the hallway Tsubaki was walking down and the silence that it carried was like a weight. She could see a dead end where the light from her torchlight shone on and noted that she had three more classrooms left.

_A demon? Seriously? _Tsubaki snorted incredulously. _Looks like that ridiculous rumor has gotten into Hiro-kun's head…Whoever started that silly 'demon' rumor should really stop spreading that nonsense._

Rolling her eyes and a shake of head, Tsubaki stopped before the door and let out a sigh as she reached out to pull open it. Staring calmly into the quiet, empty classroom, Tsubaki waved her torchlight on the teacher's desk, the rows of desks and to the back before sliding the door close.

_There's really no one here…_ Blinking pensively, Tsubaki turned and continued down the hall, swinging her bokken around boredly. _Is this patrol even necessary?_ Pacing along the row of windows, she spared a brief look at the building across and slowed down once she reached the next classroom.

Doing the same for the classroom like the one before, Tsubaki pushed the door close once she searched the room and found it empty as well. _This is getting really pointless…_With a lazy groan, Tsubaki strolled unenthusiastically toward the next classroom with eyes locked on its door with dulled interest and drawled, "And finally, the last and only classroom…"

Without warning, a loud crash coming from the other side of the door tore through the silence like the sound of thunder.

* * *

Leaning fully into the wall behind him, Hiro casted another glance down the way Tsubaki and…that black oddly-shaped shadow went down, with a furrow forming between his eyebrows. He was never one to be afraid of the dark or much of a believer of the supernatural. But that sudden chill that tingled down his spine when that shadow past them earlier was telling him something. Or was it just him thinking too much?

A silent sigh escaped him.

Maybe Tsubaki was right? His mind was probably just playing tricks on him. He had to admit he was starting to feel pretty psyched about the supernatural possibility that surround the kidnapping case.

Pulling out his phone from his back pocket, the light from his phone illuminated the frown on his face when he flipped open the device to check the time and saw that it was almost eight. Fiddling with the phone absentmindedly, Hiro spared another glance down the corridor.

"Hey Tsubaki-chan, doing alright there?" His question echoed down and pierced through the still silence. "If you're suddenly scared or something, I'll come over! Just make some noise or somethin-"

A deafening crash sounded before he could finish his sentence.

"Whoa, that wasn't really what I meant by making some noise." Hiro pushed away from the wall, blinking dumbly at the path before him. "A-Alright, I'm coming!" Taking a step forward, Hiro raised his torchlight and shone its light down the corridor.

However, before he could set his other foot down…

"MOVE!"

Eyes sprang wide, Hiro let out a surprised yelp. Swinging his torch to the right, Hiro turned in time to see a dark-haired boy looking about his age brush past his shoulder.

_It's a person…Is he even a student?_

Hiro blinked in shock at the attire the teen was clad in, watching him striding away urgently. "Hey! You shouldn't be here!" Hiro rushed forward and grabbed his arm.

* * *

She could have sworn she saw a dark figure floating in the air before the lights of the classroom blinked rapidly to life. The image of the figure had managed to burn into her mind even though she only saw it within a matter of seconds. But still, she wasn't sure it was real or just a flicker of her imagination because she hadn't switched on the lights when she saw it.

Sweeping a weary look around the room, Tsubaki turned her attention to the fallen shelf by the teacher's desk, curiously looking at the books, papers, notebooks and a couple of files that were scattered across the floor. Whipping her head around, she searched the room once more, growing convinced of what she saw earlier.

_Hiro-kun's right. There WAS something just now._ Tsubaki approached the fallen shelf and heaved it back up against the wall with a groan. _Maybe just a bat or some bird… _Shrugging at her thoughts, she stepped back from the shelf and moved on to pick up the fallen items on the floor.

* * *

Rin felt himself being jerked back by the hand around his left arm and glanced over his shoulder at Hiro. "Didn't you hear that crash?" An eyebrow quirked up at him.

"Well, of course I did." Hiro mimicked his action. "But still, you shouldn't be here! Go home!"

Rin sighed impatiently. "Gladly, but after this!" Without another word, he ripped his arm out of Hiro's grasp and sprinted off.

"Damn it," Hiro cursed under his breath and took off after Rin. "What a weird guy…"

Rin gritted his teeth in concentration as the tug grew overwhelmingly intense, and reached over his shoulder for _Kurikara_ but jerked to a pause at the sound of approaching footsteps behind him. His body went still with realization.

Shit, how could he forget? There was no way he could use _Kurikara_ in front of that pesky prefect. He thought irritably and his arm dropped to his side. His blue flames would be seen as soon the demon sword was unsheathed. And he certainly didn't want to deal with questions about them.

"I said stop!"

The dark-haired teen rolled his eyes and sighed before spinning around with a growl in time to see the prefect slowing down to a stop.

"Quit following me, will ya?" He crossed his arms impatiently as Hiro shot him an incredulous look, and continued before the boy could interrupt. "Look, I'm here because I left my homework under my desk and ran over here when I heard that crash. I can't just ignore that right? What if someone fell and needed help?"

Hiro scowled at Rin. "Actually, you can. I'll deal with it and _you _will leave."

Rin spared a glance down the hall and turned back to Hiro with an annoyed frown. Who knew this little mission could so frustrating and troublesome? His fists clenched with the desire to knock out the prefect, but he fought not to give in to his urge. "I will leave after this, alright?"

This time, without even a glance at Hiro, Rin sped down the dark corridor with arms hastily pumping at his sides. Echoes of his pounding footsteps rang out every time his feet met the ground and raspy breaths from him mingled with the cool air at every puff as he sprinted down the corridor.

_I've gotta finish off that damn demon before that stupid prefect catch up with me!_ Rin's blue eyes shone with determination as he locked onto the classroom at the end of the corridor.

He could feel it so close. _Right _behind those doors.

Pushing his legs to move faster, Rin skidded to a stop before the door, pulling _Kurikara_ off his shoulder. Still not taking it out of its red bag, Rin raised Kurikara before him as he dashed into the room. "Don't think you can escape me-"The dark-haired teen stopped short. "Huh?"

Instead of a demon he expected, before him stood a girl who looked as stunned as him. _Where's…the demon?_ Rin blinked dumbly at the girl and turned away to sweep a look around the room._ It must have sensed me and escaped…_His face fell as he noted that the tug he had been following was gone.

Tsubaki was shocked to see Rin before her at a time like this. Her eyes lingered on the red object she knew was the sword he always carried around in his hands before flickering up to his face. "What in the world are you doing here, Okumura-san?"

_Okumura..? How does she know my name…?_ Swinging _Kurikara_ back onto his shoulder, Rin whipped around to face the girl. Surprise and realization jolted through him as he quickly recognized the familiar pair of golden eyes that stared back at him. _It's that girl from class! _

Rin relaxed and quickly answered the question when he saw her eyes narrow. "I-I just came back because I left my homework in class. Then I heard a loud crash from here-"

"And this guy _insisted_ on being a busybody even when I told him to leave."

Hiro who had caught up and stopped by the door cut in, voice dripping with annoyance and glaring. Rin merely raised an eyebrow at the glare the prefect threw at him as he watched Hiro walk into the room.

"What's with that crash anyway?" Hiro's glare flattered into a puzzled look as he turned to Tsubaki for answers.

"Oh, this bookcase here fell." Tsubaki gestured at the shelf behind her with a shrug.

"How did it-"

"I don't know. Probably because it's old. I mean…look at the wood."

Rin turned his eyes away from the conversation and looked around once more. _That damn demon! _His face pensive despite frustrated as he walked over to the windows and peered out. All he saw a quiet school and a calm night sky. _Where the hell did it go?_

"What about that black thing I saw?"

"What black thing?" Rin spun around, eyes darting back and forth between Tsubaki and Hiro. "Where did you see it go?"

"It looked odd and dark," Rin turned his eyes to Hiro who suddenly looked excited. "I saw it flying down the corridor we were in just now. _Really_ fast."

Glancing away from Hiro, Tsubaki looked strangely at the dark-haired teen who hurriedly strode away from the windows and back to them, but answered anyway.

"Actually, I think I saw it too." She could not help but shuddered inwardly as the image of the black shadow came back to her again. "It was in this room before I switched on the lights." Her voice was weak with hesitation like she wasn't sure herself. "Then…it disappeared."

"You saw it too?" Rin watched Hiro turn to Tsubaki with amazement. "See, I'm not scared and I wasn't trying to scare you." Hiro crossed his arms smugly.

"Whatever, but it was probably some animal or insects we saw." Tsubaki rolled her eyes at Hiro. "I'm sure it was not a demon like you or the rumor said!"

Rin flinched. If only they knew how close to the truth they were…

The dark-haired boy watched with mouth quirked ever slightly in amusement as the two argued. _Poor kids…Better ease their fears…or their excitement._ His eyes flickered over to Hiro.

"Actually," Rin finally spoke with a grin, voice raised to catch their attention. "That black flying thing was the bat I saw earlier."

Both turned to him, surprised.

"And you must have scared it away when you turned on the lights." Rin turned his eyes to Tsubaki.

Tsubaki nodded and turned to Hiro with chin raised. "Told you it was an animal, Hiro-kun."

"I guess…" Hiro shrugged and glanced down at his watch, "We'd better get going now. It's late and the girls are probably waiting to be dismissed." Without another word, Hiro started toward the door.

Rin turned to Tsubaki and gestured at the door. "After you."

* * *

The bike under Rin vibrated strongly as it carried him down the almost deserted road, zooming past the quiet buildings. Without the protection of his helmet he didn't bother to wear, the cold night wind was relentless to his hair and face. But he didn't have time to care.

"Like I said, Eyebrow, this one escaped before I could get it." He spoke into the Bluetooth headset attached to his ear, glaring at the road before him. "I'm not sure why but I have a feeling this one…isn't ordinary."

"_Okumura!" _Rin cringed at the loud gasp and the eager voice emitted from the other side of the line. "_Do you think it's the one we're looking for?"_

"Possible. We shall wait and see."

Ending the conversation with one click, Rin revved the engine and sped off on a highway.

* * *

**A/N: **And so this is the second chapter of **DBM**! This chapter turned out longer than I have expected, but I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave me a review; feedbacks are crucial to me when it comes to my stories. Don't you think I deserve some reviews? Perhaps? Please tell me what you think; I'm dying from curiosity. Until the next chapter, see ya!


	3. A Quarter to One

**A/N:** Hello lovelies, here's an update after quite a while. Sorry, I was busy with my other stories and life. And I was also outlining this story before I wrote the next (this) chapter. Anyway, let's waste no more time and proceed to the 3rd chapter of **DBM**!

P.S. I'm sorry for any mistakes you may spot in this chapter. I'll look at this again once I find the time.

* * *

**Devil Beside Me**

#_03_

**A Quarter to One**

* * *

The morning sky still looked dull and sleepy, even with the feeble sunrays from the rising sun.

Somewhere in Eastern Kyoto, on the 25th floor of _The Grand Oriental Suites_, a pair of blue eyes belonging to a dark-haired boy drowsily peeked out at the rest of the world from behind the curtains of a ceiling-to-floor window.

A lazy yawn escaped from him as he stole another glance at the digital clock sitting on the bedside table. _7:05AM. _Rin read grumpily and drew the curtains close.

_So much for waking up earlier_, the boy thought irritably as he turned around and plodded toward the bathroom.

Last night, he had set the alarm for 6:00AM so that he would have enough time to hit the gym and after that, eat his breakfast provided by the hotel before making his way to 'school'. This was a daily routine he had been following since he arrived in Kyoto…well, except for today because he had hit the snooze button for god knows how many times!

But again, he couldn't really fall asleep yesterday no thanks to the demon that had appeared and disappeared at Seiko High. He had spent the nearly whole night tossing and turning.

Rin was dead beat tired when he came back after his last night's adventure but his brain seemed to think that he was not sleep-deprived enough and decided it should set him on a meaningless, endless train of thoughts about practically…_nothing_.

Staring tiredly at his reflection in the mirror through sleepy-looking squinted eyes, Rin pinned his fringe securely to the crown of his head with a crocodile hairclip and broke into a grin as a thought struck him,

_At least it's gonna be Eyebrow's turn to deal with those stupid pests!_

* * *

"Class, we have a new project."

Groans and protests arose almost immediately in the classroom of 3-B. Clearly no students of that class could stand the idea of another project. Being the next batch to graduate from high school, projects from various subjects were already piling and the year had barely started!

Tsubaki let her forehead hit her desk, puffing out a big sigh. She was already exhausted from yesterday's night patrol and somehow just hearing about this project made her even more so.

"Quiet down, class, you should know what to expect when you enter your last year. Bear with it." Tsubaki breathed out another sigh at her history teacher's not-so-encouraging words, "Anyway, I'd divided you all into teams of four so please come take a look at this list to see who your teammates are."

Tsubaki raised her head with a scowl as groans and protests arose once again. She joined them, voicing her disagreement as well.

But their teacher wouldn't budge. "It's been finalized so that I don't want to see any of you messing up the arrangement, understand?" That being said, their teacher pinned the paper in his hand to the noticeboard with a tack. "Waste no more time and get into your groups."

Realizing there wasn't a room for negotiation from the finality in their teacher's voice, the students rose from their seats.

* * *

Once everyone had learnt who their project mates were, each teams had pushed two desks together and settled around them. Their history teacher had gone straight into the details of the project after he had made sure that every students was in their respective team.

But Tsubaki barely paid attention to the instructions. Her attention were on her two project mates across her – a loud mouth supernatural-obsessed geek and the strange boy who carries a sword wherever he went.

Why? She let out a silent sigh. _Why_ the hell does it have to be these two out of the whole class?

Glancing between the two boys, something made Tsubaki's eyes stop on Rin who was sitting on the other side of the desk they shared.

Tsubaki eyed the dark-haired boy who didn't seem to care one bit about the project. With a propped elbow under his head, his head was tilted toward the window beside him. The usually intense blue eyes of his carried an apathetic gleam in them.

There was something about Rin that she couldn't quite place a finger on. The strange feeling of distrust and at the same time, curiosity that she couldn't shake off toward him ever since she saw him last night. And she couldn't figure out why.

"…Tsu-chan?"

"Huh?" Tsubaki snapped out of her thoughts and turned to Mei beside her with eyebrows rose. "What is it, Mei?" _Good thing I have Mei with me_, she thought and felt something lift at the back of her mind and felt relief sink in. At least she had someone on her side!

Snickering behind a hand, Mei leaned in with a sly look and said in a voice only audible to her. "Why are you staring at Okumura-kun like this?"

Or maybe not.

Tsubaki returned an unimpressed look. "It's not what you're thinking, silly, I'm just annoyed how he doesn't give a single care about this project," She shrugged and a sly smile of her own appeared on her face. "Hmm, in case you've forgotten, _Mei-chan_, who was the excited one just now?"

The sly smile on Tsubaki's face widened as she recalled how Mei had looked over to her with an excited look and whispered, "I've always wanted to work with Okumura-kun!"

Mei turned red and spluttered, "B-but that was-"

"Matsuoka-sensei, I need to use the washroom!" The abrupt sharp feminine voice nearly made Tsubaki jump.

Blinking at each other, Tsubaki and Mei glanced over their shoulders in time to watch Kamiki Izumo dash to the front of the classroom, past their bewildered teacher and threw opened the door.

"Hold on, Kamiki-san, I haven't allowed you-"

The door slid closed with a loud slam before their teacher could finish his sentence, leaving the class staring at the door in stunned silence.

Tsubaki frowned as a sense of déjà vu came rushing in her. _Kamiki-san too..?_

Then a snort sounding as if someone was trying to force back a laugh which came from behind her drew her thoughts away from whatever just happened. Tsubaki turned her head to where it came from and quickly realize it was Rin when her eyes landed on him.

Leaning his chin heavily on his hand, Rin grinned at the door, his blue eyes bright with amusement.

He could barely contain his grin. It was refreshing to be watching someone else rushing out to do his job. He shifted his gaze away from the door and back to the front, absentmindedly fiddled with his phone under his desk which he had used to text Izumo about the demon and its whereabout.

It was only then when Rin sensed eyes on him.

Lowering his gaze to where he had sensed them from, Rin jerked back when he found the girl before him staring at him. "Err…What?" Rin blurted out, quirking an eyebrow at her.

Tsubaki hadn't realize she was staring and turned red when she was pulled out of her thoughts and found herself on the receiving end of the strange look Rin threw her. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something and I didn't realize..." She shot Rin a sheepish smile.

"Erm yeah," Rin's face lit up with a grin. "No problem…"

This caught the two other members' attentions.

"Hey Okumura," Kenichi nudged the boy with his elbow, "Now that I think about it, did you and Kamiki transferred from the same school? Or is she…" The copper-haired boy wagged his eyebrows suggestively and curled his hand into a fist, leaving his little finger sticking out.

Tsubaki instantly understood what Kenichi meant and saw Mei perked up at the question from the sides of her eyes. "Yeah yeah, Okumura-kun, is she?" Mei leaned in, her eyes wide and curious.

Tsubaki thought Rin looked confused for a while.

She was about to explain the meaning behind Kenichi's gesture when Rin's face lit up with understanding. "Why the heck are you asking such a weird question?"

When Rin laughed, similar thoughts ran through their heads.

Mei looked slightly hopeful, Kenichi suddenly looked bored and Tsubaki nodded to herself as she processed whatever she had interpreted.

"You'd better not let her hear you say that," Rin then snickered to himself as his teammate looked on in confusion. "Yeah I totally agree that she's a midget, but you really shouldn't comment on her height, or lack of hahaha. You should see what she did to the last guy that called her that!"

Tsubaki nearly fell off her chair. Did he really not get that reference...?

"Huh…?" She saw Kenichi give him a flat look.

Mei giggled at his answer. "Oh you're funny, Okumura-kun! Nakazawa-kun is trying to ask you whether or not Kamiki-chan is your girlfriend."

Rin suddenly looked horrified. "Wha-NO!" He blushed when he realized that his shout had attracted the attention of their classmates from other tables, and Matsuoka-sensei shot him a warning glare. "I mean, we're just friends... Kinda?"

Tsubaki and Mei looked at each other. But Tsubaki couldn't resist doing it without shooting Mei a teasing smirk. "Stop it, Tsu-chan!" Mei admonished in a hushed voice. Cheeks turning pink, Mei hastily returned her attention back to the boys.

"Huh," Kenichi gave him a disbelieving look, "But did you seriously not understand what the little finger represents? Man, you need to hang out more!"

Rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, Rin let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah I should..."

The sudden appearance of a looming shadow over their table made them look up to find their history teacher glaring down at them irritably. All four of them wilted under his intimidating gaze.

"Team 6, who said you could use my lesson to engage in meaningless talks?!"

* * *

_The night was calm. An almost silent rustling of the leaves, the gentle caress of the wind, the sound of her footsteps. She felt… peaceful._

_Tugging her windbreaker closer to her body to combat the chilly wind, she continued jogging down the familiar path that she had ventured many times before._

_There was no one in the park with her, since most people wouldn't even be awake at this time of the night. But this was why she loved her night jogs. Having a whole park to yourself was rare in the busy city of Kyoto, especially in the day. _

_And today had been a bad day. She had gone home after school as usual, and the first thing she heard upon her return was her parents arguing. They barely noticed when she muttered a quiet 'I'm home', too engrossed in their latest argument that was probably as stupid and pointless as the last. They ate in stony silence during dinner, and she had excused herself to do her homework when her parents started raising their voices at each other again. Not that they noticed. She had slipped out of the house a little after midnight to go for her run, and to be rid of the stifling tension at home. She was just so tired._

_Raising her right arm toward herself, she glanced down to look at the time on the red watch around her wrist. The needle hands showed that it was a quarter to one. Another fifteen minutes before she had to be home. _

_She let out a sigh and pumped her legs to move faster so that she could reach home in time. She was too engrossed in her thoughts, so she missed the first sign that something was not right._

_It was only when the wind picked up enough speed to whip her ponytail wildly around that she stopped. How strange. The trees in the distance were not shaking in the wind. In fact, the tree that was about 20 metres in front of her wasn't moving at all. She glanced down at the ground and saw that the leaves around her feet were trembling. Where was this strange wind coming from?_

_She felt a sudden chill run down her spine. There… there was something there. She wasn't alone in the park._

_She ran. Ran blindly in the direction of her house, where she would be safe. In her panic, she ran headfast into something that was not there before._

_Blue… flames?_

**.**

**.**

**.**

Tsubaki woke up with a start. She could feel her heart pounding against her ribcage, as if she had really been running like in her dream.

What was that strangely intense dream?

Raising a hand to her forehead to wipe away the rivulets of sweat, her eyes flitted over to the window as she tried to calm herself down. The blue curtains were thin enough for her to tell that the dark sky was just starting to light up.

A groggy yawn escaped her as she rolled over on her stomach.

_5:40. _

The neon green digits of her clock met her eyes and made her realize she had woken up an hour earlier than usual. With nothing else to do, she breathed out a sigh and tried to go back to sleep.

* * *

Tsubaki sneaked a glance at Rin from the sides of her eyes. Somehow they had managed to land up doing cleaning duties together. She wasn't sure how she felt about this.

The dark-haired boy was nice enough though he was a little weird, but there was something about him that rubbed her wrong. He was like a mystery, a puzzle she couldn't figure out. All she knew about him was his name, the region he came from, and the fact that he was a year older than her.

The other transfer student, Kamiki Izumo, however, seemed normal. They had spoken a couple of times and she found out that Kamiki was from a shrine like her, though she had refused to reveal anything else about her shrine, ending their conversation abruptly with 'Don't be a busybody' before walking off. Despite her standoffish attitude, nothing about Kamiki set off any bells.

Rin on the other hand… Tsubaki's gut instincts told her that there was something off about him, and her instincts rarely proved her wrong. She decided in the end to remain polite and relatively friendly with him while still keeping her guard up.

"So where do we bring all these to?"

Rin's voice pulled Tsubaki out of her thoughts. Glancing over at him, she tried to act like she hadn't just been assessing him in her head. Fortunately, his gaze was still fixed to the front as he tried to juggle holding the three cardboard boxes in his arms without them toppling off.

"Oh erm, just past these tennis courts." Tsubaki watched his eyes follow her finger. "The main garbage bin is right at the back."

They fell into silence again, though not exactly an uncomfortable one. It was more of a silence where they could walk together without feeling the need to talk. Besides, she couldn't think of any topic to start a conversation with him anyway.

Tsubaki adjusted the garbage bags in her hands and grimaced at their weight, silently wondering why it was so heavy. Heaving them higher, she looked over to check how Rin was doing and sighed in envy when she realized how at ease Rin looked even with the three boxes stacked on top of each other in his arms. She knew they were full of unwanted books and files so they were definitely heavy.

Tsubaki looked up at Rin, finally deciding to voice her question. "Aren't they heavy?" She realized she only came up to his shoulders when he walked over, leaving only a small distance between them.

"Nah, not at all." Rin glanced down at the bags in her hands. "But you can give me one of those to carry if you want." He freed a hand from underneath the boxes and reached out to the bag closest to him.

Before she could pull the bag away or even protest, Rin had already added it to the stack in his arms.

Tsubaki looked up at the bag and to Rin in bewilderment. "It's okay, I can carry it myself. It's not-"

"I don't mind," Rin let out a laugh and grinned. "It doesn't really make a difference to me. Heheh, these are so damn light!" He puffed out his chest beamingly.

Tsubaki blinked, watching him keep up with her so easily while carrying enough stuff for two people was starting to convince her that it really made no difference to him. "…Thanks, I guess. You can pass that back to me when your arms feel tired." Her eyes then drifted to the red sash on his back as she eyed it curiously. That sword again…

Rin noticed her gaze and flickered his eyes to his sword before turning his gaze back to her.

"I've always wanted to ask you this…" Tsubaki peeled her gaze away to look at Rin and was startled when she found him gazing at her rather thoughtfully. Just like the time when she caught him sneaking into the classroom.

But the thoughtful look barely lasted a second before being replaced with a questioning look. "What did you wanted to ask me?"

"Oh erm…" Tsubaki averted her eyes away again. Those blue eyes were starting to unnerve her for some unknown reason. "That sword on your back…" Tsubaki forced herself to look at him again. "You seem to carry it around with you all the time."

"Oh that," A shadow appeared over Rin's eyes when his dark hair fell forward into his face. Tsubaki watched a flicker of storm came and went on his face. "It's just..." Rin then glanced over with a stiff smile. The sight of it made Tsubaki wonder whether he was remembering something unhappy from the past. "I made a promise to my old man to bring this everywhere I go."

Tsubaki nodded her head in silent understanding and looked back to the front, diffusing the tension in the air that had somehow built up during the last part of their conversation. For a couple minutes, they just stood there and watched a group of soccer boys practising in the field near them.

Rin looked over at the auburn-haired girl as he suddenly thought back to the night he bumped into her in school while she was on her prefect evening patrol. "So…did you manage to see that bat that we saw the other night when you went on your patrols again?" He tried to give off an air of nonchalance as he waited for her reply.

Tsubaki shook her head. "Not even a glimpse."

Thoughts of the evening patrols made her sigh out loud.

Apparently, they were a waste of time. During the few nights of patrol, they had only managed to catch only one or two students loitering in the school when they had expected more like usual. She had figured that parents had grown more paranoid after the second kidnapping case. The increase in the number of parents driving into the school or waiting outside to pick up their kids were a given. It was an unspoken Code-Red period now.

Her sigh made Rin raise an eyebrow. "You seem disappointed."

"Disappointed? Not at all," Tsubaki looked at him incredulously. "I just hope it doesn't appear again, I don't want to spend the night picking up fallen shelves again." She shrugged.

Rin gave a snort of laughter. "And that friend of yours? Erm…Hiro?"

"Oh, still going around sprouting that demon nonsense." Tsubaki rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "That rumour's getting out of control, I swear."

Blinking at her statement, Rin let out a nervous laugh. "Y-Yeah it is, huh."

* * *

_She knew where she was. And as she looked at the lone figure jogging on the path, she realized with a sinking feeling what this was._

_A dream; not just any dream, but the very same dream she had a week ago. She knew because she recognized the impalpable tension in the air, the way the shadows seemed to encroach upon the lone figure who was still blissfully unaware of the danger he or she was in. _

_Even though she knew this was just a dream, she tried to warn the unknown person._

_Tsubaki ran forward, and as she drew closer, she realized that she knew who it was._

_No, nonononono-_

_It was Mei. _

_And just like in her first dream, she saw Mei glance at the watch. It was a quarter to one. A small voice inside her remarked on the strangeness of the whole situation. Weren't watches not supposed to work properly in dreams?_

_Mei didn't notice, too lost in her thoughts, but Tsubaki saw how the shadows seem to gather in a particular spot some distance behind Mei._

_A strange breeze picked up, and Tsubaki saw the moment Mei noticed that something was off._

_Run, Mei! Tsubaki tried to shout, but she realised that no noise was coming out of her mouth._

_Mei smartly chose to run but just like in her first dream, she ran into something._

_Or someone. With the benefit of being a third party in the dream this time, Tsubaki finally saw who the other person in the dream was._

_It was Okumura Rin, and with a sense of bewilderment, she saw that his head was on fire. Blue flames to be exact._

_A second look showed that it wasn't his whole head that was in flames, just the front part of his head, and the twin blue flames were shaped to resemble some form of horns…? His ears were also strangely pointy and elongated. And oh god, was that a tail and fangs? Why did she make Dream-Okumura out to be some sort of mutated fire monkey?_

_He was saying something to Mei "…doing out so late at night? Go home, it's not safe here!"_

_Mei, whose face changed from shocked to incredulity was about to point to him about his apparent hypocrisy about being here so late at night when a strong gust of wind blew out of nowhere and enveloped them._

_When the wind died down, Tsubaki noticed that Rin had shifted until he stood almost protectively in front of Mei with an unsheathed sword held up in front of him, and was glaring at a seemingly empty patch of air in front of them._

_To her utmost bewilderment, a black hole opened up at the spot and out stepped through two familiar figures._

_Kizuma Saaya and Sugimoto Daichi looked exactly as they did when they disappeared, with the former dressed in the Seiko High school uniform and the latter in the home clothes he disappeared in._

_The only difference was the vacant look in their eyes._

"_Wha-what's going on? Kizuma-chan! Sugimoto-san!" Mei tried to go towards them, but Rin grabbed onto her arm. "No! Don't go over, they're possessed."_

_Both Tsubaki and Mei shot him looks of disbelief, but he ignored it and murmured under his breath. "Shit, stupid four-eye never said anything about what to do in this case."_

_Both the missing students opened their mouths and said together in an emotionless voice, "Come. Come with us, Matsumoto Mei."_

"_Like hell she is!" Rin gritted out with clenched teeth, and placed a warning hand on his sword._

_The two of them turned towards him and said again in unison "Stay out of this, exorcist. You can't stop us."_

_Before Rin could retort, a strange haunting melody filled the air. Tsubaki cringed and covered her ears with both hands. What was that horrible sound?_

_Rin was also cringing but he stood steadfast. A sudden movement next to him drew both Tsubaki and his attention, as Mei made to move her way towards the black hole._

"_Hey wha- I told you to stay behind me!" Rin tried to grab her shoulder but she slapped his arm away with a surprising amount of force. _

_She turned vacant eyes over to him and said in an emotionless voice. "I must go… he is waiting for me…"_

_Rin made another grab for Mei but was intercepted by Kizuma-san who appeared out of nowhere with lightning speed. He sheathed his sword, effectively sealing up the flames that enveloped him, and tried to maneuver his way past Kizuma-san._

_In one swift move, Kizuma-san punched him in the stomach and sent Rin flying back into a tree. He fell hard against the tree and collapsed on the ground._

_Kizuma-san went back to the edge of the portal and stood there with Mei and Sugimoto-san. Together they said, "Interesting, exorcist, how you didn't fall under my spell. I'll keep my eye on you, and we'll meet again someday."_

_Tsubaki could only stare in horror as the trio turned and stepped into the portal. Right before Sugimoto stepped in, he turned his head sharply to look straight into her eyes. _

_His eyes turned red and his feral grin revealed sharp fangs. "I'll see you soon as well, little bird."_

**.**

**.**

**.**

Eyes flying open, Tsubaki sat up with a loud gasp. The strange, sudden urge to check the time made her look over at her alarm clock, but what greeted her sent a chill down her spine.

On the display of the digital clock, the neon green digits glowed eerily in the dark.

_12:45._

* * *

**A/N: **Things are getting scarier, aye? I feel so too, hahaha. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. I'm really sorry about the long interval between this and the previous chapter. My main focus is my Kuroshitsuji fanfic which is coming to a close soon and also because I'm in my final year AKA a heck load of workload and exams. Urghhhh.

Before you go, leave me a review yeah? Reviews are a writer's fuel.


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